The top reported proficiency rate is 34% in English language arts. The lowest is 25% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Walton Academy
Walton Academy is a small charter school on North Florida Avenue in Tampa, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. Its enrollment is quite small for an elementary school, and every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, making it one of the most economically concentrated school communities in the area. The student body is predominantly Black, with small shares of Hispanic and multiracial students. Data on English learners and students with IEPs were not available in what we reviewed.
The academic picture from Florida's FAST assessments, reported for the most recent school year, is one that parents should examine closely. In math, third graders were below half proficient, while fourth and fifth graders were well below that. Reading results were similarly low: third grade was the weakest point in ELA, with less than a third of students proficient; fourth grade showed a modest uptick, and fifth grade landed in between. Fifth-grade science proficiency was roughly in the same range as the lower reading scores. These results sit below what most families would consider strong ground, and a parent considering Walton Academy would do well to ask the school directly about its instructional approach, any tutoring or intervention programs, and what support structures are in place for students who are behind grade level. Multi-year trend data were not available, so there is no way from this data alone to say whether scores are improving or holding steady.
Walton Academy's charter status means it draws students by choice rather than by neighborhood assignment, and it operates within the Hillsborough County school district. That district recently went through a significant rezoning affecting assigned schools across the county, so families comparing options should confirm current enrollment availability and application timelines directly with the school.
Because Walton Academy serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. AP courses, dual enrollment, and career pathways are not applicable here for the same reason.
The school sits in Tampa's North Florida Avenue corridor, a stretch of the city that connects the historic Seminole Heights neighborhood to the south with commercial and residential fabric heading north. The broader Tampa housing market, as of mid-2026, shows home values modestly above the Florida state benchmark and slightly above the national figure, with rents running at a level that takes roughly a third of a median income. Values in the immediate zip code have dipped slightly year over year. Hillsborough County homeowners should also know that voters approved a one-mill property tax increase in late 2024, running through mid-2029, directed at teacher and staff pay across the district, including charter schools' share under state law.
Tampa itself is a city of distinct neighborhoods, each with its own character. Walton Academy's location on North Florida Avenue puts it in a more urban, transit-accessible part of the city rather than the suburban periphery. The city's public transit system, run by HART with dozens of routes centered on the downtown Marion Transit Center, serves much of this corridor. Downtown Tampa, a short distance south, carries a dense concentration of cultural venues, waterfront parks, and the ongoing Water Street development, one of the larger mixed-use urban projects in the Southeast.
For a family weighing this school, the honest picture is one of a small, high-poverty, predominantly Black charter school with academic proficiency rates that are currently low across all tested grades and subjects. The charter model may suit families looking for a specific environment outside the traditional district assignment, and the school's small size can mean more individual attention. What the data cannot tell us is what the school's culture is like day to day, how teachers and staff interact with students, or whether recent efforts are moving the needle. Those are questions worth putting directly to the school before enrolling.
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